This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2015) |
Networker | |
---|---|
In service | 1989–present |
Manufacturer |
|
Number built | 344 sets |
Number scrapped | 40 sets |
Operators |
|
Specifications | |
Maximum speed | 75–100 mph (121–161 km/h) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Networker is a family of passenger trains which operate on the UK railway system. They were built in the late 1980s and early 1990s by British Rail Engineering Limited (which became part of ABB in September 1992) and Metro Cammell. The trains were built for the Network SouthEast (NSE) sector of British Rail, which is where their name comes from. They are all multiple-unit trains.
At the launch of Network SouthEast in 1986, the 'Networker' series of trains was announced. [1] [2] It would be a new family of trains that would be introduced as a key part of NSE's wider plan to modernise their network. Specifically, it would replace various older types of trains, typically locomotive-hauled rakes of 'slam-door' carriages. [1]
Unlike previous contemporary rolling stock units in Britain, Networker trains would use aluminium bodies to save weight. Furthermore, electric units would feature modern AC traction motors and air conditioning. The design was to cover all requirements for future NSE multiple units, including new routes such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. [1] NSE intended for fleet procurement to be performed in a rolling fashion, ordering around 300 carriages per year.
The Networker was originally intended to become one of the largest families of trains, bigger even than the largely Mark 3-based Second Generation. [1] However, due to the recession in the early 1990s and the privatisation of British Rail from 1994, around 340 trains were built, substantially fewer than originally planned. [1]
The Class 165 is a 2- and 3-car diesel multiple unit (DMU), built for outer suburban workings. Thirty-nine units were built for the Chiltern subdivision of Network SouthEast between 1990 and 1991 (Class 165/0), while thirty-seven were made for the Thames subdivision in 1992 (Class 165/1). Since privatisation, the Class 165/0 units have been operated by Chiltern Railways, while the Class 165/1 units have been operated by Thames Trains, First Great Western Link, First Great Western and Great Western Railway in turn. [1]
The Class 166 is a faster, air-conditioned variant of the Class 165, built for main line workings. Twenty-one 3-car units were built for the Thames and North Downs subdivisions of Network SouthEast in 1992 and 1993. [1]
These designations applied to a single four-car electric multiple unit (EMU), converted from former Class 210 carriages, that was used as a research prototype. The unit was numbered as a Class 457 unit for trials with power from 750 V direct current (DC) third rail on Southern Region lines, then as a Class 316 unit for trials with power from 25 kV alternating current (AC) overhead line equipment on lines north of the River Thames, for which one of its intermediate carriages was replaced with a Class 313 pantograph trailer.
The Class 365 was a dual-voltage EMU. The train was ordered in 1993, following a financial battle between NSE and InterCity for investment. [3] Forty-one 4-car units were built from 1994 to 1995, [4] the first sixteen fitted with pick-up shoes for power from 750 V DC third rail on services between London and Kent, [5] and the other twenty-five fitted with pantographs for power from 25 kV AC overhead line equipment on services on the East Coast Main Line from London King's Cross to Peterborough and King's Lynn. After use by a variety of operators, Great Northern withdrew its Class 365 fleet on 15 May 2021, [6] [7] and the fleet was subsequently scrapped. [8]
The Class 465 is a four-car EMU, powered from 750 V DC third rail. They were built by British Rail Engineering Limited (465/0), ABB (465/1), and Metro Cammell (465/2) in slightly different versions. Used by Network SouthEast, upon privatisation they passed to Connex South Eastern, then to South Eastern Trains then to Southeastern and are currently operated by SE Trains.
The Class 466 is a two-car EMU. It is powered from 750 V DC third rail and used extensively in multiple with 4-car 465s to provide 6-car and 10-car formations. 43 units were built between 1993 and 1994 by Metro Cammell (who built the 465/2s) using GEC traction. The arrival of Class 376 Electrostar trains saw some units move to rural lines to operate 2-car shuttles, displacing half of the Class 508s.
Class 171 was a long distance DMU that was proposed but never built. Originally, around seventy 'Turbo Express' trains were planned for long distance, unelectrified routes. However, Regional Railways had over-ordered Class 158 trains, and NSE agreed to take on the surplus units, introducing them from 1993 as Class 159 South Western Turbos. Therefore, Class 171 trains were no longer required. [1]
Class 331 and 332 were two middle distance EMU types that were proposed and never built. 300 Class 331 'Networker LT&S' carriages were planned, as part of a 'Total Route Modernisation' of the London, Tilbury and Southend line. Instead, 74 Bombardier built Class 357 Electrostar trains entered service from 2000. [1]
Twenty Class 332 'Networker Heathrow' trains were planned to be built for Heathrow Express services. Instead, 14 CAF built Class 332 trains entered service in 1998 on Heathrow Express services. [1]
Class 341 and 342 were middle distance EMU types that were proposed but never built. Class 341 'Networker Crossrail' was intended to be the rolling stock for Crossrail prior to its cancellation in the early 1990s; the specifications for this class were later used in drawing up the rolling stock specifications for the current incarnation of Crossrail. The Class 342 was intended for use on domestic services using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link when it opened in 1994. In the end, these projects were cancelled, and no trains were constructed. [1] [9]
Class 371, 381 and 471 were three long distance EMU types that were proposed but never built. Classes 371 and 381 were proposed as the "Universal Networker", a dual voltage train type for a multitude of services including Kent Coast, Great Northern, Thameslink and LTS routes. Class 471 was the proposed "main line Networker" intended for long-distance services from London to Kent and Sussex. [1] The Class 365 train was ordered in 1993, instead of the upgraded Class 471 series. Following the privatisation of British Rail from 1994, no more trains were ordered. [1]
Class | Image | Current operator | Introduced | Qty. | Cars | Car length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diesel multiple units | ||||||
165 | Chiltern Railways | 1990–1992 | 39 | 2 or 3 | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) | |
Great Western Railway | 1992 | 36 | 2 or 3 | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) | ||
166 | 1992–1993 | 21 | 3 | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) | ||
Dual-voltage | ||||||
316 and 457 | (Scrapped, preserved or inserted into Class 455 units) | 1989–1990 | 1 | 4 | ||
365 | (Scrapped) [8] | 1994–1995 | 41 | 4 | 20 m (65 ft 7 in) | |
DC electric only | ||||||
465 | Southeastern | 1991–1994 | 147 | 4 | 20 m (65 ft 7 in) | |
466 | 1993–1994 | 43 | 2 | 20 m (65 ft 7 in) | ||
Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and London Paddington. Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heathrow Airport Holdings. Around 16,000 passengers use the service each day.
Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. The company was purchased by GEC Alsthom in May 1989; the Washwood Heath factory closed in 2005 and was demolished in early 2019.
Abbey Wood is a National Rail station in Abbey Wood in southeast London, England. It is between Plumstead and Belvedere stations on the North Kent Line. It is 11 miles 43 chains (18.6 km) measured from London Charing Cross, with services to central London routed via Greenwich or Lewisham, and Elizabeth line services to Paddington and Reading via Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street. The station is managed by Transport for London with passenger services provided by Southeastern, Thameslink and the Elizabeth line. It is the closest railway station to the suburb of Thamesmead, which is connected to the station by local buses. The station platforms are located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich with the station entrance in the London Borough of Bexley.
Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network went as far west as Exeter and also covered the inner East of England. Before 1986, the sector was originally known as London & South Eastern.
The British Rail Class 375 Electrostar is an electric multiple unit train that was built by Bombardier Transportation at Derby Litchurch Lane Works, from 1999 to 2005. The class form part of the Electrostar family of units, which also includes classes 357, 376, 377, 378, 379 and 387, the most numerous type of EMU introduced since the privatisation of British Rail.
The British Rail Class 365 Networker Express was a class of dual-voltage electric multiple unit passenger train built by ABB at Holgate Road Carriage Works in 1994 and 1995.
The British Rail Class 165 Networker Turbo is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple unit passenger trains (DMUs), originally specified by and built for the British Rail Thames and Chiltern Division of Network SouthEast. They were built by BREL York Works between 1990 and 1992. An express version was subsequently built in the form of the Class 166 Networker Turbo Express trains. Both classes are now sometimes referred to as "Networker Turbos", a name derived some three years later for the project that resulted in the visually similar Class 365 and Class 465 EMUs.
The British Rail Class 150 Sprinter is a class of diesel multiple unit passenger trains; they were developed and constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited at York Carriage Works between 1984 and 1987 for use on regional services across the UK. The type is a second-generation design, built to more modern standards and based on BR's Mark 3 body design for longer-distance services. It was developed alongside the lower-cost Pacers, which were built using bus parts, for use on short-distance services. Two prototype units were built, followed by 135 production units in two batches. Subsequently, further members of the Sprinter family were also developed and introduced to service, including the Class 155, Class 156, Class 158 and Class 159.
Seven Kings railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line, serving the district of Seven Kings in the London Borough of Redbridge, east London. It is 8 miles 46 chains (13.8 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Ilford and Goodmayes. Its three-letter station code is SVK and it is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station was opened on 1 March 1899 by the Great Eastern Railway. It is currently managed by the Elizabeth line, which operates services between Shenfield and Heathrow Terminal 5.
The British Rail Class 465 Networker is a class of 147 electric multiple units built by Metro-Cammell, British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and ABB Rail between 1991 and 1994. Originally operated by Network South East, these units are now run by Southeastern.
The British Rail Class 466 Networker are a fleet of 43 electric multiple units that were built by Metro-Cammell in 1993 and 1994. The units are currently operated by Southeastern.
The Bombardier Electrostar is a family of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England between 1999 and 2017. It has become the most common new EMU type in the United Kingdom since the privatisation of British Rail with a number of variants. Electrostar trains are most common on high-volume suburban commuter routes around London; and on mainline services from London south to Surrey and the south coast, east to Essex, and north to Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
The British Rail Class 325 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train owned by and operated for the Royal Mail to carry bulk mail. The class consists of four-car sets with dual-voltage 25 kV (AC) and 750 V (DC) power. While the Class 325 cabs bear a resemblance to the Networker family of DMUs and EMUs, the Class 325 is based on the Class 319.
Connex South Eastern was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Eastern franchise from October 1996 until November 2003.
The Sprinter is a family of diesel multiple unit trains in use on the British railway system. They were built in the 1980s and early-1990s by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL), Metro-Cammell and Leyland. Sprinters operate in almost every part of Great Britain, from rural branch lines to commuter expresses into major cities.
Class 371, Class 381 and Class 471 were proposed electric multiple unit classes from the Networker family of trains intended to operate long distance services in the south-east of England. Due to British Rail's financial limitations in the early 1990s recession, and the break-up of NSE in the privatisation of British Rail from 1994, none of the trains were ordered.
The Alstom Aventra is a family of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains produced at Derby Litchurch Lane Works in the United Kingdom, originally by Bombardier Transportation and later by Alstom, as a successor to the Bombardier Electrostar. A large proportion of its design is based on the Electrostar, adding new technologies and achieving compliance with more stringent requirements and operator demands.
Diesel multiple units and railcars are trains, usually with passenger accommodation, that do not require a locomotive. Railcars can be single cars, while in multiple units cars are marshalled together with a driving position either end. As of December 2010, 23 percent of the rail passenger cars used on Network Rail are part of a diesel multiple unit.
Network SouthEast (NSE), the sector of British Rail which ran passenger services in London and southeast England between 1986 and 1994, operated a wide variety of rolling stock during its existence. The majority of the network was electrified, and further electrification schemes took place during the 1986–1994 period; and the 7,000 vehicles owned by NSE in 1986 consisted of a mixture of electric, diesel-electric and diesel multiple units, diesel locomotives and the coaches they hauled.
The Holgate Road carriage works was a railway carriage manufacturing factory in the Holgate area of York, England.
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